


What Happens In An Elevator

by Dragonsire21



Category: Undertale
Genre: Anthro, Dragon-kin, Dragons, Elevator, Emotional, One Shot, Papyrus - Freeform, Sad, Sans - Freeform, Some OC - Freeform, dragon - Freeform, fanfiction challenge, prompt, temmie - Freeform, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 03:56:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8129533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonsire21/pseuds/Dragonsire21
Summary: When the elevator breaks down, leaving Sans, Papyrus, Temmie and Andromeda trapped inside, other things will come out in a surprising, emotional twist.





	

Just when things couldn’t have gotten any worse, life spat straight back in Sans’ face and grinned wickedly while doing so. Papyrus couldn’t keep hitting the call button hard enough, but the elevator was stuck and there was no signs of life coming from any of its mechanical components whatsoever. Sans just slid down the wall and prayed for death, salvation, whatever would possibly end this misery of being stuck on an elevator with  _ that _ . Andromeda was failing miserably to hide his frustrations, at one point nearly punching through the elevator door with a fist of fire and fury. He kept looking down at Sans, who wallowed in his own despair at the fact that Temmy hadn’t gotten off at an earlier stop and now the elevator has trapped him with her.

“Sans, get up, I need your help!” Papyrus asked, sounding as though he may have a plan.

“Pap, hitting that button isn’t going to make the elevator move any faster than it’s already not.”

Andromeda was thankful that he had decided to not summon his wings for this trip. Everyone was already uneasy being in close proximity to an irritated dragon. He moved over to Papyrus’ side and repeatedly poked the “door open” button with enough force to crack the button’s plastic surface. With each thrust of his scaled finger puffs of smoke shot out of his nostrils and onto the button panel he was assaulting.

Finally he gave up, and with a hearty grumble said, “there’s a reason I hate elevators. I hate them so much, and I’m also stuck with  _ that _ ,” he pointed at Temmy and shot her an evil glare, “horrible thing. I love it, I love today, I love all of this, I just  _ fucking  _ love it.”

Papyrus turned to him and replied, “you know, swearing a blue streak isn’t going to help anything either. I, The Great Pa--”

Andromeda raised his hand and interrupted, “Pap don’t finish that thought, just keep doing whatever it was you were doing, I think it might work if you just will it to a little more.”

Sans shot him a look of death. How dare he interrupt Papyrus like that? Andromeda could tell that he was getting under his skin, even though he had none. Temmy began to vibrate on the floor, making it very obvious that she was there with them and was happier than they were. Papyrus turned his head in confusion when it started to hum and purr whilst vibrating at near mach one speeds. This was it. Sans’ only wanted to head to Grillby’s after getting out of Hotland. He just wanted his ketchup. Andromeda would have been right behind him for a cold pint and a smoke, but the elevator had other plans. Maybe this would have been the first time he could try to convince Papyrus to try beer. His ruined plans filled him with disgust and angst.

“Well, how desperate are we to get out of here? I could try and burn the roof off of the elevator, but it’ll get hot when I do it.” Andromeda suggested, trying to suggest anything to contribute.

From down on the floor a tiny voice piped up in response, “Temmy think that great idea!” 

_ Mother of God that thing is more annoying than I thought _ , Sans thought to himself.

“I say we wait and not damage the elevator anymore than your finger has,” Papyrus replied, trying to be the voice of reason.

Andromeda raised his middle finger at Papyrus, “oh you mean this one?”

Sans reached over and slapped him in the back of the head.

Papyrus was losing his cool. He only wanted to keep the peace long enough to avoid a triple homicide by either Sans or Andromeda. He ignored his rude gestures and carried on trying to find a way to get the elevator to work again. He knew enough about him to know that making him angry wasn’t the greatest of ideas, even if accidental. He can’t blame him for being angry, it isn’t his fault he is stuck in an elevator with what can only be described as torment that shakes.

After five minutes of total silence Sans finally gave up entirely. He let out a sigh and fell over onto his side. “Well, I guess we’re boned. We’ll be stuck in here forever at this rate.”

Andromeda closed his eyes and stood with his back against the back wall. He wanted to respond to Sans but decided not to out of respect for whatever sanity was collectively left between the three of them. He admired how child-like Papyrus was. He hoped he would never lose his sense of wonder and innocence. Flipping him off wasn’t a cool thing to do, he wouldn’t want him to learn how to use that finger on people. He smiled as Papyrus began to get excited when he thought he did something good.

Temmy began to get antsy about something. She chased her tail around in circles while repeating “meow” and a few other phrases with a maddening rhythm. Sans stared on in horror as this furry noisemaker frollicked in front of him, teasing him with its happiness.

“You know, do you think those things ever just stop and chill out for a bit?” Andromeda asked, his eyes also entranced by the strange game of chase occurring right in front of him.

Sans had no desire to find an answer to that question. He replied, “I don’t care enough to know, I can’t handle that thing right now as it is.”

There was one mutual agreement in the fact that if anyone was hungry they would just eat Temmy and hope that they didn’t turn into a Tem in the process. Temmy wasn’t keen on the joke, but still maintained a cockeyed smile through it. At one point Andromeda joked that Flowey was actually holding the elevator just so he could watch them get upset about it. Sans sat up and spat something hateful about him, calling him a “weed” and saying that he would need to mow the lawn soon.

“So what’s the deal with Flowey anyway?” Andromeda asked.

Papyrus turned around before Sans could get a word in and explained, “Flowey just needs a friend! I am the leader of the Underground’s official Flowey Fan Club! He’s not all that bad, he’s just needs love, that’s all!”

Andromeda laughed himself into a coughing fit at the sound of a “Flowey Fan Club”. He asked between wheezes, “have you ever thought about just starting a gardening club?”

“Just hope his attitude doesn’t  _ soil _ the fun”, Sans added, much to Papyrus’ disdain.

Papyrus raised his voice to try to talk over the bouts of laughter coming from the dragon and his brother. “Guys, it’s a great idea, I know it is! The Great Papyrus is always full of good ideas,” he defended.

“You are Papyrus, holy shit you are so not wrong about that,” Andromeda replied between laughs and coughs.

Temmy’s continued laughter at their jokes began to give Andromeda a pounding headache. The shrill scream that could only be described as awful kept stabbing at his eardrums as if Undine were impaling his ear on the tip of her spear. He finally put his hand on Temmy’s head and boldly told her to stop laughing and that it was not as funny as she probably imagined it was.

After getting frustrated with getting nowhere, Papyrus sat down next to Sans and let him sleep on his shoulder while they waited. Papyrus really was like a child in a lot of ways, but in others he was admirable for being there when Sans hadn’t stepped up. He always kept his house clean, despite his multiple attempts to get Sans to pick up his one sock that even Andromeda made comments about when seeing it for the first time.

Andromeda quietly sighed and said, “Hey Pap, sorry for getting frustrated with you earlier and flipping you off. I know you’re trying to help, but there’s no way this thing is going to move unless we force it somehow.”

Papyrus smiled warmly and replied with sincerity, “It’s okay, I forgive you Andromeda. We can’t let our anger get the best of us. You just need to believe in yourself like I do, that’s all!”

Andromeda could feel a tear welling up in his eye. He quickly looked turned his head so Papyrus wouldn’t see it, but he was too late.

“Are you okay?” He asked with concern.

Andromeda quickly sniffled, trying to hide the sudden sadness that hit him. He looked over at Sans and Papyrus sitting directly across from him. Memories of his past flooded back to him, all of his loss that has suffered through, being told that emotion is a weakness and that he needs to be bold, brave, strong, everything that a cookie-cutter knight needed to be. In this moment he felt free of it all. Papyrus actually almost made him cry. Nobody has ever done this before. He tried to lie and say that he was fine, but he wasn’t. He slid himself over to Papyrus, avoiding Temmy who was sitting on the floor watching in bewilderment.

“Andromeda, you’re crying…”

Andromeda wiped his eye and looked at the floor. He took a deep breath and said, “you know Papyrus, you’re different. You’re different than anybody I know. I can’t help but admire your sense of self and the love you have for your brother. All of that was ripped from me when I was young. I lost everything, almost everyone I knew, loved, gone. Just like that, gone. War is a horrible thing.”

Andromeda could tell that Sans was also listening. He looked at him from over Papyrus’ shoulder.

“You never told us this before,” Sans said.

“I’ve never wanted to. I carry many burdens on my back, I’ve got a lot of regrets, but I couldn’t let them go. I just can’t. My father went down this same path,” Andromeda paused for a moment, “he suffered for so long. He couldn’t handle it, and it drove him to the brink of insanity. They say that knights have no fear, but they’re wrong.”

Papyrus hugged Andromeda as tight as he could. He could feel the dragon’s heartbeat against his chest. He could feel Andromeda trying to fight back tears in his labored breathing.

“Thanks Pap, you really are helpful.”

Temmy weaved her way into Andromeda’s lap as he sat next to Papyrus. He didn’t bother to shoo her away or call her anything mean this time. He pet her on the head and stared at the far wall in thought.

“Sans, I know how you feel.” Andromeda said.

Sans looked up at him curiously, “what do you mean?” He asked in reply.

Andromeda’s gaze remained locked on the opposite wall of the elevator.

“You know, about giving up. Just saying fuck it all and walking away from everything. Dropping everything and just never going back. I’ve tried to do it before, and like you I found that the moment I stopped caring was the moment when I was most vulnerable. When I was young, I wasn’t originally going to be a knight. Hell, I didn’t even want to fight anybody. I just wanted to be a sorcerer, maybe work at the local college of magic with some of the other mages from around the country. That was what I wanted, but when the Great War broke out and dragon kind, hell anything that wasn’t human was being hunted and slain, my life took a turn for the worse. I lost my mother, my real father, my brother,” Andromeda gritted his teeth in anger, “they took my brother from me. The only one who ever kept me grounded in life and they snuffed him out.”

Sans and Papyrus exchanged glances, then looked on at Andromeda in wondrous pity.

“So what made you become a knight?” Sans asked.

“My current father was a family friend. It was arranged by my parents that if anything were ever to happen to them before I was of age to leave on my own, he would take care of me. He followed through with this agreement and I escaped my burning town with him on horseback. He trained me, not just physically, but he trained me to love battle. I couldn’t ever follow through with that part, it wasn’t right. Eventually I took up archery and learned magic at the same time. I was sworn in as a knight in the king’s service not too long after. I had little to no say in any of it.”

A single tear ran down the side of Papyrus’ face. He could only feel grateful for having Sans with him. He felt for Andromeda, but didn’t know what to say to him, if there was anything to say at all.

“What even brought me to Mount Ebbot in the first place is another interesting story. I was looking for the source of a magical energy that seemed to resonate from somewhere. Turns out, I was on top of it the entire time. I found a cave at the summit of the mountain, and one wrong step later I had found what I was looking for. I had no idea what I was getting into though when I met you all, I had no idea any of this was going to happen. I found family in the strangest place,” Andromeda chuckled to himself, “and never once was I able to thank any of you properly for it.”

Sans smiled warmly, but something told him that there was more to his past that he wasn’t saying. He couldn’t shake the fact that when they had first encountered Andromeda he was carrying with him a massive sword and an iron will that a warrior would be very familiar with. He remembered finding him walking through the snowy forests just outside of Snowdin with no direction, no real objective in mind. The sword on his back showed the world that he was a fighter, not saying much else about its owner. He remembered a longbow slung over his shoulder that glowed at the ends of the arms, and how quickly he readied arrows when he felt he was being threatened. He learned this for a reason. He didn’t want to bring up any past demons now, he felt it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.

Sans asked as politely as he could, “So why were you looking for this magic source then? There wasn’t enough where you’re from?”

Andromeda thought to himself for a moment, choosing his words carefully. He finally spoke, “I came looking for it because I had once heard that there was no magic in this world, well the surface I mean. I’d heard a rumor that the surface was in fact devoid of magic, and that whatever ‘magic’ existed was purely illusions and just tricks to play on people. I was surprised when I started noticing the powerful waves coming off of the mountain. Of course I had to check it out, and that’s how I ended up here.” 

Temmie looked up at Andromeda with a joyous expression. She was listening, even when Andromeda hadn’t thought she was. To some he is callous, crude, even cold and uncaring. Then there are some who have seen through all of it. He gave her a loving smile, despite all that he had said about her earlier. In this moment he felt that he had finally found a family once again,  _ his  _ family. He didn’t want to have to bear the weight of his past anymore, he wanted closure. Seeking a happy ending through all of it wouldn’t be an easy task, but he had every reason to be thankful for those who believed in him anyway.

After sitting in somber silence for awhile, he had decided that something needed to be done. Andromeda rose to his feet and positioned himself in front of the elevator doors. He knocked on the smooth surface, testing to see if they were hollow or if they were heavier than he had anticipated. The doors made a hollow, metallic sound on the inside, just what he was looking for. His knocks became light punches. He aimed his hand at one point on the door, hoping that where he hit would be the right choice. If it wasn’t, it could mean a broken hand and a bad decision on his part.

“You don’t actually mean to do that, do you?” Sans asked in curious amazement.

“It’s worth a shot, right? The door feels light, I could take it right out of the frame if I hit it right.” Andromeda replied.

Sans knocked on the door himself to see if Andromeda was right. To his surprise the door was in fact fairly light, a solid kick might bend it but to take it out of its frame may be a different task altogether. He stepped aside and waited for Andromeda’s next move.

“Well, what do you say? Do I kick it?” Andromeda asked.

Sans stepped towards the wall opposite of Papyrus and nodded in agreement. Temmie sat behind Papyrus, using him as cover in case something would unlikely go flying. Eyeing a spot in the middle of the door, Andromeda braced himself to strike. He knew that the door was separated in half on the inside and outside. It felt light from the inside, but he would need to give it all he could to break through the second one. His breathing became heavier, smoke puffs rose up from his nostrils again. At first he braced to kick the door, but shifted his weight towards his front. He lowered his shoulder and put his foot against the back wall of the elevator. In one massive burst of energy he lunged forward with all of his weight, aiming for as close to the center of the door as he could. The door not only bent inward, but also came out of the top of the frame. This was all he needed, he knew he could get them out now. With a second lunge he sent himself crashing with the elevator doors onto the floor. They had been sitting at their destination floor the entire time!

As he rose to his feet Andromeda heard Sans say behind him, “I can’t believe that worked, but who’s going to pay for this now?”

Andromeda shrugged his shoulders and replied, “insurance?”

Sans chuckled while Papyrus stared on in horror when he realized that someone may actually come asking about the damage done to the elevator. He shuddered at the thought of how expensive it could be to fix, but Andromeda assured him that he’ll be fine if they left it a dirty secret never to be told to anyone. The elevator had no cameras, so what was Papyrus to worry about?  _ Anything _ could have happened to it.

As they headed for home, Papyrus wanted to know more about Andromeda’s secret past that he had kept hidden from them all this time. As much as he wanted to tell him, he figured that it would be best left behind them and never brought up again. Papyrus looked defeated, but understood and let the topic finally die out. There was still one question that went unanswered, and Sans was ready to propose it, “Who’s up for Grillbys?”


End file.
